In legal terms, an Act of

Indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

is a statute passed to protect people who have committed some illegal act which would otherwise cause them to be subjected to legal penalties. International treaties may contain articles that bind states to abide by similar terms which may involve the parties to the treaty passing domestic legislation to implement the indemnity laid out in the treaty.

International treaties

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peac ...

1648 (Art 2) *

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ( tr, Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması; russian: Кючук-Кайнарджийский мир), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kayna ...

1774 (Art I)

Domestic laws

United Kingdom and preceding states

The United Kingdom has three legal jurisdictions. Those acts passed during the

Interregnum (1649–1660) The interregnum in the British Isles began with the execution of Charles I in January 1649 (and from September 1651 in Scotland) and ended in May 1660 when his son Charles II was restored to the thrones of the three realms, although he had been ...

were themselves rendered null and void with the Restoration of the monarchy in England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660.

England and Wales

* Act of General Pardon and Oblivion 1652, passed by the Rump Parliament during the First Commonwealth * Act of Indemnity and Free Pardon 1659, during the Second Commonwealth *

Indemnity and Oblivion Act The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 was an Act of the Parliament of England (12 Cha. II c. 11), the long title of which is "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion". This act was a general pardon for everyone who had committe ...

(or Act of Indemnity 1660), following the Restoration *

Indemnity Act 1690 In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one Party (law), party (the ''indemnitor'') to Financial compensation, compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or ...

, following the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

* Indemnity Act 1703 *

Indemnity Act 1717 The Indemnity Act 1717 (4 Geo. I c. 15), also referred to as the Act of Grace and Free Pardon, is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed by both houses of parliament in July 1717, the last enactment of the session. Ph ...

, following the Jacobite rising of 1715 *

Indemnity Act 1727 The Indemnity Act 1727 (1 Geo. II, c. 23) was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of Great Britain during the reign of George II of Great Britain, George II. It relieved Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformists from the requirements ...

, relieved Dissenters from the oaths of the

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and Corporation Acts *

Indemnity Act 1747 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took p ...

, following the Jacobite rising of 1745 *

Indemnity Act 1767 The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...

, one of the Townshend Acts, relating to the British colonies in North America * Coatbridge & Springburn Elections (Validation) Act 1945 * Camberwell, Bristol & Nottingham Elections (Validation) Act 1945 * House of Commons (Indemnification of certain Members) Act 1949 * Reverend J. G. MacManaway's Indemnity Act 1951 * Price Control & Other Orders (Indemnity) Act 1951 *

Niall Macpherson Indemnity Act 1954 Niall Malcolm Stewart Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn (3 August 1908 – 11 October 1987) was a Scottish Tory and National Liberal politician. Background and education The member of an important Liberal family from Inverness-shire, Macpherson ...

* Validation of Elections Act 1955 * Validation of Elections (No. 2) Act 1955 * Validation of Elections (No. 3) Act 1955 *

Charles Beattie Indemnity Act 1956 Charles Beattie (3 August 1899 – 10 March 1958) was a Northern Irish farmer and auctioneer. Active in the Ulster Farmers' Union and in Unionist associations, he achieved senior office in the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution and se ...

* Town and Country Planning Regulations (London) (Indemnity) Act 1970

Scotland

*Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland 1654 (

Cromwell's Act of Grace Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland (with certain exceptions) were pardoned for any crimes they migh ...

) *

Act of indemnity and oblivion (Scotland) The Restoration was the return of the monarchy to Scotland in 1660 after the period of the Commonwealth, and the subsequent three decades of Scottish history The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st centu ...

1660

Ireland prior to 1921 and Northern Ireland

*Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion

or Ireland Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Miss ...

1664–1665? *

Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Bangladesh

Indemnity Act, Bangladesh The Indemnity Ordinance, 1975 was a controversial law enacted by the martial law regime of Bangladesh on 26 September 1975. It provided legal immunity to all persons involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was killed with most ...

, which gave immunity from legal action to the persons involved in the assassination of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

South Africa

Indemnity Act, 1961 The Indemnity Act 61 of 1961 was a law enacted by the apartheid government in South Africa, which protected the government from any legal repercussions of the Sharpeville massacre and other violent events that followed. It prevented the courts fro ...

, which gave immunity to the government in relation to the Sharpeville massacre * Indemnity Act, 1977, which gave immunity to the government in relation to the Soweto uprising

Notes

References

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